1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to an improved linkage for interconnecting two horizontally spaced bodies for linear relative vertical movements, for example, the wheel hub and the frame or chassis of an automotive vehicle.
2. SUMMARY OF THE PRIOR ART
Individual wheel suspensions for automotive vehicles have long been known in the art. Likewise, the requirement that the wheel move vertically relative to the chassis in a substantially vertical path has been specifically disclosed in several prior art patents. For example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. #2,064,824 to SANFORD, #2,767,998 to POWELL and #3,711,113 to STAMMREICH. While these patents disclose the desirability of providing a wheel mounting linkage for an automotive vehicle which will restrain the vertical movements of the wheel hub relative to the chassis to a linear path, the linkage arrangements disclosed in such prior art are unduly complicated and expensive to manufacture. The complexities and significant cost of manufacture of the structures disclosed by each of the aforementioned patents will be readily confirmed by those skilled in the art by simply looking at these prior art disclosures. There remains, therefore, a need for a simple, rugged, yet economically manufacturable linkage for effecting the connection of a wheel hub to an automotive chassis or any two horizontally spaced bodies wherein it is desired to constrain the relative vertical movement of the two bodies to a linear path.